Patrick Austin, 23, a senior English major at Old Dominion University, said he found out about the program from an ODU employment Web site.

"You just had to fill out a couple of essay questions and cross your fingers and hope to get accepted," Austin said. "Fortunately, I did. ... I want to become a part of history, and it's just an amazing experience."

Austin said he hoped to have "an amazing lifetime experience" that would resonate for years.

"I think my kids and my grandkids will be asking about the experience," he said. "Fortunately, I'm going to be a part of this and will have some great stories for them. ... I hope they're going to say, 'Wow! You actually worked for the former president.' That's going to be a great thing."

Hampton University President William R. Harvey, an Obama supporter, said the program was similar to what the Illinois senator did when he started his campaign, including reaching out to young people in the Job Corps and the Peace Corps.

"I had not seen that in my lifetime - since John F. Kennedy," Harvey said.

"Can you image what these kids are going to be able to tell their kids and their grandkids?" Harvey asked. "I know there will be a lot of enthusiasm. They will be able to say they helped this man become president - if he is to be so fortunate."

The students are among 3,600 who will work nationwide this summer for the Obama campaign in 17 states, including Virginia and North Carolina, said campaign spokeswoman Amy Brundage.

In a statement about the program, Obama said he was inspired by the civil rights movement, by "the idea of people working at a grass-roots level to bring about change" and that the opportunity to be a community organizer on Chicago's South Side "changed the course of my life."

He said the program's aim was "to train a new generation of leaders - not only to help us win this election but to help strengthen our democracy in communities across the country."

The training at Hampton University's McGrew Towers included workshops on voter education, voter registration and canvassing.

The Obama Fellows also will be trained on the basics of organizing and campaign fundamentals, then placed in communities throughout Virginia, where they will work with grass-roots leaders and campaign staff.